Christmas

The Nativity of Jesus
In the village Nazareth lived Joseph and Mary. One night Mary told Joseph she had a dream that an angel came to her and told her she had been chosen to bear the son of God. When the people of Israel were instructed to return to their towns of birth Mary and Joseph set out for Bethlehem; Joseph on foot, Mary on a donkey. It is said they traveled many days and only rested one night, all while Mary was with child.
The couple arrived in Bethlehem at night, but there was no where with vacancy for them to stay. One inn keeper directed Joseph and Mary towards a stable room in a cave where they could rest the night. The following night, Mary gave birth to baby Jesus in the stable room.
When the child was born, a bright star shone over Bethlehem, scaring the shepherds. When they tried to run, an angel appeared and told them to not fear and that a savior had been born.
Three kings in the east - Caspar, King of Tarsus; Melchoir, leader of Arabia; and Balthazar, King from Ethiopia - knew the star as a sign and traveled many days and many miles to reach the small stable room in Bethlehem. When the three kings reached Bethlehem, they bowed to the child and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense (used in perfumery and aromatherapy), and myrrh (highly valued in ancient times).
Although the exact date of Christ's birth is unknown, it is highly held that it was either in December of 5 BC or January of 4 BC. - Hoehner

History of Christmas
In ancient Babylon and Egypt there were mid-winter festivals. December 25th was the birth of the ancient sun-god Attis in Phrygia and the Persian sun-god Mithras. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival dedicated to Saturn - god of peace and plenty- from December 17th to the 24th. Celebrations for Saturnalia included masquerades, big feasts, visiting friends, exchanging of gifts, and treating everyone as equals. The Romans would deck their halls with laurel and put candles in green trees.
In Scandinavia, the Yule is celebrated from December 21st through January. Fathers and sons would bring home logs to set on fire in recognition of the return of the sun. There would be feasting until the log burned out.
In Germany, the pagean god Oden was honored during the winter season. People were scared of Oden because they believed he flew through the night watching his people, deciding who would live or not (He sees you when you're sleeping…).

Traditions:
Mistletoe and Holly - 200 years before the birth of Christ, Druids used mistletoe to decorate their homes while celebrating the coming of winter. They believed the plant had a special healing power. Scandinavians viewed the mistletoe as a plant of peace and harmony and associated it with their goddess of love, Frigga. It is believed that is why it is now a custom to kiss under the mistletoe. The church banned the use of mistletoe at Christmas because of its pagan origin and in its place used the holly plant.

Christmas Tree - evergreen trees were first used many centuries ago by the Druids in Great Britain for their winter solstice rituals. In the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees just outside their doors to show hope for the spring. Used first in Germany in the 16th century, the Christmas tree didn't arrive in America until the 1800's when it still is unclear as to where a tree was first erected; some say Pennsylvania, others Connecticut. It is said that reformist Martin Luther was the first person to decorate a tree. Supposedly Luther was walking through a forest and was struck with the way the snow on the trees reflected moonlight and made the trees shine. He then proceeded to decorate a fir tree with candles so as to emulate what he saw that night in the forest and to honor Christ's birth.

Santa Claus - St. Nick was an actual person. Nicholas came from a town near Turkey, was the youngest bishop in the history of the church, and is known for his piety and grace. Raised as a devout Christian, Nicholas took all of his wealth and, following the words of God, gave it to the poor and needy. It is known that he had a special love for helping the needy, children, and sailors. Nicholas was sent to prison in the 4th century by the Roman Emperor Diocletian who persecuted the Christians while in reign. Nicholas was tortured in prison, but then released when Constantine became the new emperor.
Santa Claus was first brought to America by the Dutch in the form of St. Nicholas. Author Washington Irving gave the first detailed information about St. Nick in 1809. Then, in 1823, Saint Nick was fully Americanized in the poem by Clement Clarke Moore, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" now known as "The Night Before Christmas". The first image of our modern Santa Claus was illustrated by Thomas Nast who drew full-bellied Santa for Christmas issues of Harper's magazine in the late 1800's.

Stockings - Back when Saint Nicholas was out doing good, there was a kind family whose mother got sick and died. The father lost all the family's money and his three daughters had to move into a peasant's cottage. After washing their clothes one night, the girls hung their stockings over the fire place to dry. That night after everyone went to sleep Saint Nick climbed on their roof and dropped down the chimney small bags of gold that landed in the stockings. The next morning the girls discovered the gold in their stockings and were able to live happy lives afterwards. This story also tells us where the story of Santa coming through the chimney originated from.

Reindeer - the names of the original eight reindeer were taken from Clement Clarke Moore's "A Night Before Christmas"

Christmas cookies : In Medieval Germany, families would decorate their trees with cookies or wafers. Often they would find some of the treats missing, and fabricated the story that Santa took them (although it was probably mice).

Fun Facts:
~Christmas was declared a federal holiday on June 26th, 1870 under President Ulysses S. Grant